Archive for April, 2019

Emperor Meiji (2): Becoming a Constitutional Monarch

Emperor Meiji (2): Becoming a Constitutional Monarch

  • 30th April 2019

The Meiji Emperor was only sixteen when the Restoration of 1868 ended the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns and established the imperial court as the supreme authority. Personal rule by the emperor remained the ideal, but in fact around 20 men from the nobility and the domains involved in the…

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Emperor Meiji (1): Monarch for a New Era

Emperor Meiji (1): Monarch for a New Era

  • 17th April 2019

On 1 April – no, this was not a hoax! – a new era was announced in Japan. The Reiwa era will begin on 1 May when the present crown prince Naruhito succeeds his father Emperor Akihito who will finally be granted his wish to abdicate. In former times it…

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